Powerful earthquake hits Nepal, killing 128 people: death toll may rise

On the night of November 4, a powerful earthquake occurred in Nepal, with a magnitude of 5.7. Strong aftershocks were recorded in the western district of Jhajjarkot.

According to preliminary reports, at least 128 people were killed in the earthquake, and dozens more were injured. This was reported by Reuters (to see photos and videos, scroll to the bottom of the page).

The National Seismological Center of Nepal said that the first tremors were recorded on Friday at 23:47 (18:02 GMT). According to the German Research Center for Geosciences, the earthquake reached a magnitude of 5.7, while the US Geological Survey estimated it at 5.6.

It is worth noting that this earthquake was the deadliest since 2015 when two earthquakes in the Himalayan country killed about 9,000 people. Back then, entire cities, centuries-old temples and other historical sites were turned into ruins, and more than a million homes were destroyed.

The Nepalese authorities fear that the number of victims of the earthquake may increase as emergency services have not yet been able to establish contact in the hilly area near the epicenter, about 500 km west of the capital Kathmandu, where tremors were also felt. It is noteworthy that the population of this area is about 190 thousand people, and the villages are scattered across the remote hills.

Harish Chandra Sharma, a representative of Jhajjarkot district, does not rule out that the number of victims will be hundreds. The official also fears that the number of deaths may also increase.

So far, 92 people are known to have died in Jhajjarkot and another 36 in the neighboring Western Rukum district. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the village of Ramidanda.

Due to the widespread destruction, thousands of people spent the night on the cold, open hills as they were too scared to return to their homes after the aftershocks.

Nepal Police Officer Namaraj Bhattarai said that search and rescue teams continue to clear roads blocked by landslides caused by the earthquake to reach the affected areas.

As a reminder, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 was recorded in the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine in October. It was felt by residents of the entire region. Chandeliers shook in some apartments and the ceilings in houses cracked in the western part of the region.

Earlier, it was reported that a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 occurred in Afghanistan. Preliminary information on the death toll is 2445, more than a thousand houses were destroyed, and people were trapped under the rubble.

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